Anbumani questions DMK’s silence on NLC land acquisition issue

PMK leader launched a two-day padayatra against the land acquisition move; says doubts are cast on the acquisition process for the project as there was already a move to hand over NLC to a preferred industrial conglomerate

Questioning the silence of the Tamil Nadu government on the issue of land acquisition for Mines 3 project by NLCIL in Neyveli, leader of Pattali Makkal Katchi Anbumani Ramadoss said on Saturday that doubts are cast on the land acquisition process for the project as there was already a move to hand over NLC to a preferred industrial conglomerate.

Addressing a gathering at Vanathirayapuram near the mining area of NLC before launching a two-day padayatra against the land acquisition move, the PMK leader said the DMK has been in the forefront of opposition to the programmes of the Union government. Land acquisition for expansion of NLC was also an initiative of the Centre, he said.

“The DMK government has not said anything against the move to acquire land by the NLC. There are reports of NLC being handed over to a private firm before 2025 as part of the Centre’s monetisation policy. Some people are working as agents for handing over the PSU to the private firm. Everyone knows which is that company. It is ‘A’ company,“ he said.

The move to acquire 25,000 acres of land would destroy cultivable lands in 49 villages, he added.

Hitting out at Minister for Agriculture and Farmers Welfare M. R. K Panneerselvam, the PMK leader said instead of protecting the interests of farmers, the Minister was proactively engaged in pushing the farmers to part with their land. The Minister was giving false promises to the people on compensation for land and jobs, he added.

He also questioned the silence of the AIADMK, the BJP, other political parties, and farmers outfits on the issue.

Further challenging the rationale for land acquisition, he said the public utility was already in possession of over 10,000 acres of land. The land acquired from the surrounding villages was remaining idle for over 33 years. The existing lignite reserve was sufficient for NLC to generate power for decades, he said.